Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Just what is it about an ice cream cake that makes people
crave it? Maybe it’s the perfect balance between cake, ice cream, and frosting,
all sweet and chilled in the freezer. It could also be the fact that you can
enjoy your two favorite birthday celebration desserts—cake and ice cream—in a
single delicious serving. For whatever reason, ice cream cakes seem to have
made the transition from exciting new fad to established favorite dessert in
the United States.

The CEO of the popular ice cream maker Baskin-Robbins says
that its ice cream cake line is one of its leading sellers, and plans to
develop it further if possible. You can find the cakes in freezers at nearly
any ice cream shop, or order them custom-made. The new tradition has also taken
hold in another country, Australia, where ice cream enthusiasts look forward to
June 6. Queensland Day, the official birthday of the province of Queensland, is
marked each year by a brand new, limited-edition ice cream cake made by a
popular ice cream company.

As you may have already guessed, it’s not necessary to go to
your local ice cream shop in order to serve one of these delicious cakes at
your next party. In fact, there are many reasons to make one yourself. If you
have enough preparation time, you can make an incredible cake layered with your
family’s favorite homemade ice cream flavors. For a quick version that’s still
delicious, pick up two pints of your preferred brand (or combination of brands)
from the grocery store.

Our ice cream cake recipe has all the direction you need to
put together a fantastic cake. Decorate it however you like, but we suggest
using toppings that you would normally put on an ice cream sundae. Before you
begin, make sure there is room in your freezer; there’s nothing worse than
building a masterpiece of an ice cream cake and then letting it melt all over
the counter while you rush to clear the freezer out!

Whether you make your own or pick up one of the legendary
Carvel’s or Baskin-Robbins cakes, you’ll be glad you made this delicious
tradition part of your family. In fact, why not begin celebrating Queensland
Day, even if you don’t live in Australia? Any excuse to get an ice cream cake
sounds good to us.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Do you eat ice cream when you’re sick? You don’t have to
answer that out loud, especially if you don’t want your kids to know about it.
We all know that ice cream isn’t the best thing to snack on when we’re under
the weather, but the soothing, cold texture feels so good that sometimes it’s
just impossible to resist. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a healthy ice
cream that would actually help you while also tasting good?

A small ice cream company in Columbus, Ohio, has come up with
just such a flavor, just in time for the unusually severe flu season. Drawing
from memories of home flu remedies and adding a little scientific knowledge to
the mix, the company’s designers have invented a healthy ice cream that sounds
like it is also delicious.

The flavor is actually a sorbet, based on orange, lemon, and
honey—all great natural ingredients for boosting the immune system and vitamin
C levels, not to mention soothing the throat. Ginger and cayenne pepper help
clear the sinus passages, so keep some tissues handy! Finally, a contribution
that grandmothers from times gone by would heartily approve of: a little bit of
bourbon to fill the role of cough medicine.

The flavor, originally titled “Influenza RX Sorbet,” also
contains fruit pectin. Pectin helps to give the throat some relief from
scratchiness, so you feel great even after the cold and creaminess of the ice
cream wears off. Who wouldn’t walk right by the medicine aisle and pick up a
pint of this sorbet instead?

If you have some sick folks in your home, you can follow
this example and provide a pleasant, creamy, and throat-soothing ice cream for
them. Start with our basic honey ice cream recipe, which results in an
exceptionally good texture. Add a little lemon and orange flavorings, and you’ve
got a treat that will bring a contented smile to the face of even the grumpiest
flu victim.

If you visit the company’s website, you’ll find that they
have actually changed the name of the ice cream from “Influenza RX” to “Hot
Toddy” sorbet. It’s spicy enough to earn its new name, and the carefully mixed
ingredients are a good start toward feeling better fast. The Columbus-based
company is known for its adventurous gourmet flavors, which include “Goat
cheese with red cherries” and “Sweet potato with torched marshmallows.”
Delicious!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Everyone has their favorite ice cream, and more often than
not, it comes from a small, local ice cream shop in their home town. We spend
lots of summer evenings at that little shop with our family, and whenever we
host visitors, we make sure they get a scoop to taste for themselves just how
great it is. And if our local ice cream gets national exposure, we get very,
very excited. That’s the excitement that residents of Youngstown, Ohio, are
feeling right now.

In Youngstown, that favorite local shop is Handel’s Homemade
Ice Cream & Yogurt. A pro football team from clear across the country has
caught the Handel’s fever, and when they made it to the playoffs, Handel’s put
on the face paint and got to work helping the team make it to the Super Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers were delighted to find a full supply
of Handel’s ice cream waiting for them before their game against the Packers.
Apparently, there was some magic in that local ice cream, because they ate up
the Packers like they were a scoop of Handel’s “Spouse Like a House” ice cream.
For their next game, they traveled to Atlanta to face the Falcons. Handel’s
came through again, shipping the players’ favorite flavors down south. The
margin of victory was narrower this time, but the delicious taste of “Graham
Central Station” was enough to push the 49ers over the top and into the Super Bowl.

Any guesses as to what the San Francisco 49ers might be
snacking on before they hit the field against the Baltimore Ravens?

Do you have what it takes to make the best local ice cream
around? If you love making ice cream and making your customers happy, a career
as an ice cream shop owner just might be for you. Your little place could become
the center of activity on Saturday evenings during the summer, and who knows? Your
rich, unique flavor creations might catch the eye of a pro sports team. Handel’s
Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt has to be excited about the publicity boost
they will get from feeding the 49ers before the big game—especially if they
win!

It’s true that opening a local ice cream shop takes a lot of
planning, a lot of commitment, and a lot of great ice cream recipes. But with a
solid business plan and a love for ice cream, you can start a fantastic career
making people smile every day.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Here at Serving-ice-cream.com, we’re always on the lookout
for ice cream news that our readers will find interesting. There are exciting
things going on in the ice cream world that most people don’t know about, but
they’re changing the way we think about our favorite frozen dessert. This week,
we came across two different ice cream news stories that highlighted the same
state: Utah. We think that these stories could both lead to big changes in ice
cream, and we want you to be in on the news before everyone else. So, here’s
our scoop:

Ice Cream on Iron
Chef

If you’ve ever seen the Food Network show “Iron Chef
America,” you know that it always gets interesting when the competing chefs use
the ice cream machine. On the show, two chefs race against the clock to create
the best meal, using a single provided ingredient in each course. On a recent
episode, a Utah restaurant owner won a contest against Bobby Flay, one of the
most fearsome Iron Chefs. The dish he used to top off his prize-winning meal? Beef
fat ice cream. You see, the required ingredient was ground meat, and the Utah
chef decided that ice cream was the best way to incorporate it into a dessert.
The judges loved it, and we think that hip ice cream store owners just might
pick up on the trend.

Ice Cream on Shark
Tank

In another TV show, ABC’s “Shark Tank,” entrepreneurs with
innovative business ideas pitch themselves to wealthy investors. On an upcoming
episode, another Utah ice cream news maker will have the opportunity to
introduce his idea to the world: An ice cream parlor that freezes its product
using liquid nitrogen. The fun, scientific freezing method has been gaining
traction in both Utah and Florida, and exposure on national TV will probably
give it a boost. Look for one of these fascinating shops to open up near you
before too long!

Ice Cream in Your
Kitchen

Feeling inspired by these innovative ice cream news stories
from Utah? Try your own hand at creating a new flavor, inventing a brand new
freezing method, or simply improving an old favorite with some minor
adjustments. The sky’s the limit! Perhaps even host an ice cream party,
awarding prizes for the most creative and most delicious creations. You might
not end up on national TV, but you might start a trend that will sweep the
country.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

It’s that time again…time to keep scribbling out “2012” and
correcting it to “2013;” time to go to the gym at least until after your
friends give up, so that you will look like the dedicated one; and time to make
some real changes to your diet. New Year’s resolutions frequently target
unhealthy foods, and desserts are usually at the top of that list. And one of
America’s favorite desserts is—you guessed it—ice cream. Resolutions are great,
especially when they actually help you reach your goals for the year, but do
they really have to be the arch-enemy of your favorite frozen treat?

Far be it from us to say that your diet depends on cutting out ice cream. Resolutions fail when we try to bite off more than we can chew,
like pledging to go to the gym four times a week or to never eat dessert again.
Those are simply too difficult for anyone to keep, and as soon as we fail once
we feel that there is no point in trying to do our best with it for the
remainder of the year.

The answer to this dilemma? You can keep ice cream in your
life without letting it add pounds. One of the best ways to do so is to buy
your own ice cream maker. At home, you can make ice cream that has far less fat
and sugar than store-bought brands, without sacrificing taste or quality. This
benefit compounds itself: When you really feel like a dessert, pass up the high-calorie
brownies and have a bowl of low-fat, homemade ice cream instead.

In fact, you may find that making ice cream yourself
unleashes your creativity in a way that buying it at the store does not. By
experimenting with different cookie and candy mix-ins, you might just discover
your own favorite ice cream flavor. For example: that secret peanut butter cookie
recipe of yours could turn into an award-winning cookie-dough ice cream!

A high-quality ice cream maker like the Kitchen Aid StandMixer carries some unexpected advantages for your kitchen, too. You can use it
to make all kinds of healthy treats like juice and smoothies, saving even more
money and helping your family eat healthier all year long.

This year, make some ice cream resolutions that make sense!
Commit to making your own, lower-calorie ice cream at home, and watch your other
fitness goals fall into place as well.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

It probably seems to you like it would take quite a lot of
effort to make something like chocolate ice cream politically controversial. It’s
one of the two top ice cream flavors, along with vanilla, and people all over
the world love it. A small ice cream manufacturer in California, though, is
churning up a batch of chocolate, cinnamon, and politics that might spark a few
arguments about immigration—or help bring people together on the issue!

Grocery store customers in California enjoy buying ice cream
made by the company “Three Twins.” As a San Francisco-based company, Three
Twins was understandably excited about the Giants’ World Series championship
this past fall. Looking to capitalize on the victory with a new ice cream flavor,
advertisers hit upon a headline-grabbing idea for chocolate ice cream, sparked
by a bold statement by one of the Giants’ star pitchers.

During the Giants’ victory parade, pitcher Sergio Romo wore
a black T-shirt with the words “I only look illegal” printed in white. A
descendant of migrant workers from Mexico, Romo wanted to emphasize that it is
dangerous to make assumptions about a person’s legal or illegal immigration
status on the basis of their appearance. Three Twins wants to turn Romo’s
statement into a marketing campaign, placing an idea on the Web publicly and
asking for Romo’s approval.

The package for Three Twins’ proposed Mexican chocolate ice
cream flavor would include Romo’s face, a Mexican-decorated baseball, and the
words “It only tastes illegal.” Romo fans and pro-immigration activists would
presumably line up to buy the ice cream, as well as anyone who thinks the
combination of chocolate and cinnamon in ice cream form sounds absolutely
delicious.

You don’t have to wait to see if Sergio Romo is willing to
lend his face to Three Twins’ ice cream before enjoying cinnamon chocolate ice
cream. The combination creates a unique sweet and spicy flavor, the perfect
conclusion to taco night or a Mexican-themed social event. Just add cinnamon to
our fantastic chocolate ice cream recipe according to your taste, and enjoy
your very own Mexican treat—with immigration arguments optional.

Is it a good idea for Three Twins to insert itself into the immigration
debate with its proposed ice cream flavor? Would it be a good move for Romo to
become a public spokesman for Mexican migrant workers? Call us selfish, but if
it means that cinnamon chocolate ice cream will become a more popular flavor,
we say yes!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

There is a long list of treats that we typically only enjoy
during the Christmas holidays. Gingerbread, candy canes, fruitcake, pumpkin
pie, perhaps a yule log cake—and maybe your family has a specialty all its own.
Most of these desserts can be translated into ice cream form with delightful
results, and the topic of this post is no exception!

Egg nog ice cream takes a holiday favorite to a whole new
level. When drinking regular egg nog, you might very well imagine that it would
be great in ice cream form. But it can be rather difficult to actually make egg
nog ice cream, keeping all the ingredients in the correct proportions and
textures. We’ve got you covered, though; just visit our website for two equally delicious recipes and take your pick. Each one will create a delicious frozen
dessert with a variety of creative serving ideas.

Our recipes use some creative approaches to duplicate the
flavor of egg nog. For one thing, imitation rum extract adds the signature
flavor of egg nog without the alcoholic content. The real trick, though, is
getting the egg into your egg nog ice cream without changing its texture. The
secret ingredient? A powdered egg substitute. The Philadelphia style recipe
will end up packing less calories on, but the custard style recipe will result
in a more “authentic” egg nog texture.

Whether or not they enjoy it, most people have little
knowledge of the history behind the rich holiday drink with the funny name. Egg
nog is the all-American version of spiced, alcoholic punches that appeared at
parties all over Europe at Christmas. Instead of wine, which was hard to find
in colonial America, people added rum or whiskey to their cold egg drink. Of
course, hosts differed on their preference of alcoholic content, with George Washington
reportedly dumping three different kinds of liquor into his! The unusual name
of the drink appears to be a shortened version of “egg and grog,” or perhaps “egg
in a noggin.”

You can certainly leave alcohol out of your egg nog if you
choose, but there’s one thing you can’t change: it has to be made and served
cold! This makes it a perfect candidate for ice cream treatment. Make this year’s
Christmas party a little different by serving egg nog ice cream, perhaps accompanied
by some of those other great seasonal desserts: gingerbread cookies or a big
slice of pumpkin pie.